Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

Monday, March 21, 2011

The Spot
House Republicans feared the worst when a school-safety bill was sent to a Democratic “kill committee,” but not to worry the sponsor says.
Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, said he thinks the measure he co-sponsored with Rep. Robert Ramirez, R-Westminster, is in good shape. House Bill 1121 is scheduled to be heard later this afternoon by the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.
It’s known as the “kill commitee,” which is usually where bills from the minority party are sent to die.
But as the committee chairman, Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, pointed out today, King has a great track record in that committee. So far, the committee has passed three of King’s bills and the fourth one was killed at his own request after he discovered the legislation wasn’t needed.
(By the way, if you look in Google images under “kill committee,” Heath’s picture pops up.)
House Bill 1121 disqualifies a person from employment by a school district for conviction of certain offenses.
During testimony before the House Education Committee, Jane Urschel, with the Colorado Association of School Boards, testified in support of the bill, saying it protects children from exposure to potentially dangerous people. It passed on a 9-1 vote. The House approved it 54-9.
With that kind of bipartisan support, Ramirez and other Republicans were shocked to see it has been to the Senate State Affairs committee. Their buzz over the weekend was that the bill was going to die.